Pfizer shifts Viagra to McGarryBowen

Pfizer has given McCann HumanCare the heave-ho on its Viagra consumer account, awarding the business to McGarryBowen following a review.

A Pfizer spokesperson said a review continues and confirmed that McGarryBowen had been selected to handle DTC, but declined to specify what other elements of the brand's business are up for grabs.

The move, first reported by Advertising Age, follows Pfizer's shift of consumer advertising for Chantix from McCann HumanCare to McGarryBowen in January. The Interpublic Group agency still has some Pfizer consumer business, including assignments for Toviaz, Detrol and, through Pfizer's joint venture with Eisai, Aricept.

McCann HumanCare has handled the Viagra consumer business since 2004. The shop's executions for the brand included “Wild Thing,” which the company pulled under FDA pressure, and the more recent “Viva Viagra” campaign. The shop's last TV ad for the brand, a comparatively toned-down spot dubbed “Reflection,” broke in October. The new ad urges men to “have the talk” with their doctor about erectile dysfunction, acknowledging that ED is often relegated to a “doorknob conversation” at the end of a visit due to patient discomfort with the topic. In the spot, a man is on his way to a doctor appointment when his reflection appears in a window and demands: “You gonna ask him this time?